Central High School will present Jonathan Larson’s Tony and Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway musical, RENT, tonight, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. RENT is a modern day rock opera inspired by Puccini’s classic opera “La Bohème.” It follows a year in the lives of seven friends barely making ends meet with their Bohemian lifestyles in New York City’s East Village.
Relational challenges, drug addiction and self-expression are examined throughout the play, but most importantly, RENT keeps us abreast of four characters, Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel, living with AIDS. It also delves into the disease’s role in society as a pandemic. RENT demands the need for AIDS awareness, tolerance, and respect and has persevered as a message of how to live in the moment with love, despite the reality of hardships. In this version, some of the more adult themes like drug use and the like have been edited to better appeal to the high school-aged crowd.
RENT will be performed at the Decker Theater in Central High School, 610 W. University Ave. in Champaign. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 per adult and $7 per student. Additional performances on Thursday, April 10 through Friday, April 12 are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. as well as a matinee on Sunday, April 13 at 2:30 p.m. to close out the run.